Beyond Reason
by EriLenx07
Summary: Moon had never considered herself to be perfectly normal, but there was a limit to that amount of insanity that even a person such as herself could take. Alola just loved going far beyond those limits though, didn't it? A novelization of Pokémon Moon with a few tweaks here and there.


_Chapter One_

Evil, thy name is jet lag.

Moon was beat. Beyond beat. Half dead might be a better description…

Okay, more like three quarters.

Kanto and Alola were about...let's say a billion miles away.

Or was it two billion? Whatever, something like that.

Regardless, it made for one hell of a journey. Two plane trips then a ferry?

Moon didn't bother unpacking before she collapsed into her bed at around eleven a.m. Alolan time. (About seven p.m. in Kanto, but that was close enough to her usual three a.m. bedtime.)

She didn't even go under her warm, soft, completely-out-of-place-in-this-tropical-hellhole mareep wool covers.

Yes, that was how tired she was.

Sleep was a beautiful oblivion. It was quiet and it didn't have any possibilities of air-sickness or seasickness or any other kind of travel related sickness.

Moon loved sleep.

Meowth on the other hand, seemed to have something against her sleeping.

"MRRRROWWWW!"

Only loud noises were really any good when attempting to wrestle Moon away from sleep's seductive hold.

Usually.

But not this time.

Moon opened one pale eyelid, glancing at the hellspawn that dared to disturb her. She raised one delicate-looking hand, looking the creature in the eye as she pointed one finger in particular at it before slowly lowering the limb, closing her emerald eye once more.

Meowth was undeterred.

" _Mreow_ ," he said incessantly.

Moon was unamused. She stubbornly ignored the annoying furball, turning onto her side so that she was facing away from it.

She was going to get her sleep, damnit.

" _Meow."_ There was a threat in that oh so innocent voice of his.

But that creature shall not prevail. Moon and Meowth, after all, shared many traits. Stubbornness, a mischievous streak that just so happened to be the bane of her mother's existence as well as sharp intelligence to go along with it all.

It was a deadly combination, but when it all came down to it the proportions of those traits within Moon were greater than those within Meowth.

"No," she muttered. "Leave me to my rest, hellion."

"Meow," he told her flatly.

"You were in your pokéball the whole time, you wouldn't understand," she informed it, still not opening her eyes.

It occurred to her that perhaps Meowth's goal had already been craftily completed, but that was okay. It would be rectified soon enough.

Meowth, it seems, has understood this as well. "Mrow," he purred triumphantly. There was a scurrying of paws against the wooden floor and Moon knew that the feline had left her dwelling.

Moon sighed in relief, sinking back into the comfort of her bed. However, this was only the first battle- a warm up, so to speak.

The real trial to stay asleep would begin in a few moments. This would be a treacherous battle, for her opponent knew her well. There was a fifty-fifty chance of success, however Moon was not holding her breath.

Footsteps sounded from the stairs.

Moon scrunched her eyes closed, praying that her opponent would take pity upon her and allow her her rest instead of attempting to persuade her into joining the world of the living.

She knew that she could win, of course, but that did still mean a few extra minutes of lost sleep.

Unfortunately, the more rational side of her knew that it was impossible. If her opponent wanted her awake, then she would have to fight with all of her weapons of rhetoric to keep herself away from the waking world.

The footsteps stopped at what could only be the top of the stairs. "Haven't you slept enough, honey?" her opponent said upon her arrival, the woman's rough yet feminine voice sounding through the tranquil air.

Moon stayed silent. Perhaps she could play with her sympathy. It had been a long journey, surely her desire for sleep was understandable.

"If you get too much sleep now then you'll have trouble sleeping later," the voice coaxed.

Footsteps sounded across the room again, stopping at Moon's lovely bed. She could hear the springs of the bed adjust to the new weight as the person sat down, as though they were groaning in disappointment just as she was on the inside.

"You'll make it harder to adjust your internal clock to Alolan time," she reasoned.

It was a very good point, Moon admitted. Or rather, it would have been had she not been speaking to Moon. Moon was the Queen of Sleep. Moon could fall asleep anywhere, at anytime without any effort. Time meant nothing to her. She could go to sleep as late as she liked, wake up whenever, then simply take a nap wherever she pleased (usually in class, but she did rather well in that anyways, so who cares?)

Her opponent was well aware of this too. "I have chocolate downstairs."

Ah, so they were bringing out the big guns already, eh?

Moon shifted her position again to face her rest's newest interruption. She opened her emerald eyes, blinking them blearily and batting her eyelashes just a bit, for extra cuteness. She was irresistible, she knew. "B-but Mama… I'm so tired, why do you want me to get up now?" she questioned, slurring her voice just a little bit to give it that extra flair of 'I'm exhausted! Pity me!' "Do you really want me to suffer this much? To force my eyes open on your whim?"

Mama was unimpressed. "And how, pray tell, is getting some nice, fresh Alolan air 'suffering'?"

Moon was undeterred. "You're pulling me away from my lover."

Mama raised a dark eyebrow. "Your what?"

If she had had the energy to put in such effort then Moon would've nodded seriously at the disbelieving words. "My bed and I have entered into a serious love affair. I think I would like to marry him, Mama."

Yes, it was true. Moon had never experienced any romantic feelings brought on by the hormones that raged within all sixteen year olds. She figured she would eventually, but the others of her age just weren't _right_ for her.

They were too focused on the little things, like pleasure and growing addicted to various substances for pleasure to think of the bigger picture.

And those that weren't like that were either too boring or female.

Moon would've loved to have been a lesbian, really, she would have, but unfortunately a single experimental kiss had ended that line of wishful thinking.

Therefore, it seemed that if Moon ever desired to have a spouse, then she would need to find a male that is not boring nor stupid or some combination of the two.

Moon's bed, on the other hand? She always desired to be with her bed, at all times of the day. To be within its warm confines, relaxing and enjoying her life with a phone and laptop at hand? Pure heaven.

Therefore, it is only logical to assume that love would be like a romantic version of what she felt for her bed, which was platonic in nature.

It would be very nice if her bed could talk back to her though. She liked the idea of marrying a talking bed. It would give her an excuse to sleep all day whenever she didn't feel the need to deal with human interaction.

Moon was sure that if she hadn't closed her eyes once more just now then she would have been on the receiving end of a _very_ dry look. "Well in that case, I'm sorry to tell you this but I can't let you continue this affair of yours."

"You don't have a choice," Moon informed her mother curtly. "Instead of trying to turn this into some sort of bizarre version of _Romeo and Juliet_ you should lay down with me and get to know your future son in law. I could always use another pillow."

"Now Moon," her mother began, exasperation making its entrance in her voice, "-don't you want a chance to meet all of these Alolan pokémon? I wouldn't be able to deal with a son in law who's already slept with my daughter before marriage anyway."

Mmm, pokémon. Such interesting creatures. Moon could almost understand why her father chose to coop himself up in a lab all day back in Kanto just to study them. There was always so much to learn about them that it just never got boring.

However, that still doesn't excuse him for prioritizing his research over her mother, leading them to have yet another screaming match of epic proportions that ended in Mama taking Moon and leaving the region.

Moon knew that they would make up within a month, they always did. There's a reason why Mama didn't file for divorce.

Though she also knew that it must be particularly painful to for her to look at her daughter right about now.

After all, the only real signs that Moon was her mother's daughter were her nose and the delicately curved shape of her face and perhaps the fullness of her lips.

The rest of her, on the other hand? It unmistakably came from her father. From the ridiculously pale skin to the blonde hair and green eyes, it was almost impossible to believe that Moon and her mother were even remotely related.

It was a sharp contrast from her mother's gently tanned skin, chocolate brown hair and eyes, but what can you do? Nature wasn't always very consistent with genetics.

"No, Mama," Moon sighed. "I do not. I already have my hands full with that furry thing downstairs, why would I need anymore of them?"

She loved Meowth, really, she did. But sometimes, such as when the thing was being an utter bastard and forcing her awake in the mornings the creature's presence could be entirely intolerable.

"Silly girl," Mama said fondly. "We're in a new region! Don't you want to explore?"

Well yes, she sort of did, but couldn't she do that later?

Moon opened her mouth to say exactly that only for her words to be cut off by the melodious ringing of the doorbell.

"See Moon? That was a sign from the heavens that you have to get up now!" Mama told her cheerfully.

Moon opened her eyes to stare at the woman blankly. "Mama, you and I both know that neither of us believe in that taurus crap."

Mama laughed at her daughter's response. "True, true. Very well then, I guess I'll go downstairs now. All by myself...letting in a stranger… Who knows, it might be a man. A very handsome man who has come to flirt with me and sweep me off my feet…"

Moon suddenly shot up. "Nope. That's not allowed to happen! You're supposed to come home to Dad in like a month, you can't do that if you're off gallivanting with some random idiot!"

Mama shot her a rather pained look that Moon chose to ignore. "In that case you should come down with me, my knight in shining armor."

Damn, it looks like she won this one….

Moon sighed in dramatic resignation. "Yes, it seems that I must… how cruel of the world to do this to me now, after everything I've been through…"

Mama giggled, patting Moon on the head as she stood up and walked to the stairs, her new yellow skirt swaying as she walked, nearly touching the floor. Such an impractical piece of clothing…

Moon groaned, getting up and following after her mother.

Why did she have to walk again? Didn't some humans have the ability to float in the air with psychic powers or something?

 _Note to self_ , Moon thought, _become a psychic as soon as possible._

"It's probably Professor Kukui," Mama was saying, though Moon wasn't paying much attention. Obtaining psychic abilities was obviously a more pressing matter.

No sooner than when they had arrived at the bottom of the stairs had some man come through the door of their new household.

The man- a strange creature with no regard for the proper order of dress within society who wore an unbuttoned lab coat, showing off his bare chest with a simple pair of sweatpants and a baseball cap- stood in their doorway unashamedly.

"Alola, cous-"

Moon did not allow him to finish his cheerful greeting.

"Hold up there, _stranger_ ," she interrupted, striding over to him with a sort of authoritative anger to her steps, poking his bare and admittedly well-muscled chest. "Exactly when the hell did I say you could come in?"

The man looked vaguely alarmed. "Well Moon-"

"And when did I tell you my name?" Moon cut in again.

"You didn't-" he began.

"Exactly. You come into my house uninvited and start calling me by a name I never gave you? This can only mean one thing!" she announced.

"Wait, this is a misu-"

"You must be a sexual predator!"

The man's jaw dropped. "What."

Moon nodded to herself. "Yes, it all makes sense! You've come here because you've heard of the exceptional beauty of my mother and I and you desired to have it all to yourself in the most perverse of manners! There is only one thing to be done now-" 

"No, that's not what's going on-"

"Ah, but you don't deny my accusations as to what your identity is!" Moon pointed out triumphantly.

"I'm not a sexual predator!" the man protested.

"That's what all sexual predators say," Moon dismissed. "How absolutely pathetic-"

"Moon," her mother cut in, having been too busy laughing hysterically in the background to have joined their conversation earlier. "This is actually my friend, Professor Kukui."

The man- Professor Kukui, apparently- nodded rapidly in agreement. "Exactly! Chill out, you've got it all wrong!"

Moon blinked, ignoring the supposed professor's words. "Mama, since when was it a good idea to make friends with rapists?"

Mama looked very much like she would have liked to burst into hysterical laughter at Kukui's expression and Moon's words for the second time within a span of two minutes. "He's not a rapist, dear. He just doesn't know the meaning of personal space."

Kukui rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "That may or may not be true…"

Moon frowned thoughtfully. "Ohh, so he's an idiot _and_ a rapist!"

Kukui looked very much like he wanted to bash his head into a wall. Mama collapsed into a fit of giggles on the couch. Moon just wanted to go back to bed.

" _Anyways_ , ignoring those completely inaccurate accusations, how has Alola been for you two?" he asked, seemingly regaining his bearings.

Huh, Moon had to give him some credit. He was very good at putting up with her.

Moon shrugged, still looking at him suspiciously. "It would have been better if I could have remained in bed and relaxed for the next twenty four hours, but noo. Because _someone_ just had to randomly show up I was forced to leave my beloved bed in order to defend my mother's innocence."

Kukui blinked. Then- for whatever reason beyond Moon's comprehension- the man burst into laughter. "You're a riot, aren't you Moon? You'll fit right in here in Alola!" 

Moon stared at him blankly.

 _Oh my Arceus, he really is an idiot._

Mama finally regained her bearings. "Oh I know! This place is just perfect for her, isn't it? A unique place for a unique person!"

No, actually. It wasn't. Moon liked Kanto a lot. Moon had friends there, school was pretty simple, the climate wasn't a tropical hell that would quite literally kill her for wearing a hoodie outside…

Kukui nodded enthusiastically. "She'll be shining here like an electrode's Flash before you know it!"

 _Shining...like an electrode's Flash? What._

Mama clapped her hands in excitement. "I hope so!"

They then proceeded to have a conversation about their past in Kanto that Moon was starting to become very suspicious of. They seemed to know each other a little _too_ well for two people living in two completely different regions. 

Maybe she should tell Dad. Dad had much of the same views on humanity as Moon did and had much more experience in dealing with human idiocy. He would obviously know what to do.

Yes, that was exactly what she would do...if he ever got out of his lab for long enough to charge his phone. Why he didn't just keep his charger in his lab was beyond her.

Oh wait, she knew why. It was to give himself an excuse as to why he didn't answer the phone when really he just didn't have the patience for interaction. Dad was cheating on Mama with his books for a reason, you know.

"-and get you a pokémon!"

Moon blinked, the words registering in her mind. "...huh?" How in Arceus' name did they go from talking about ancient times to declaring that she was going to get a pokémon?

Kukui flashed her a grin. "Yeah, we'll take you to the Island Kahuna in Iki Town. He's always willing to give new trainers their first pokémon!"

"But I never said that I wanted to be a trainer in the first place!" Moon protested. No, no and no. Did they not understand how much effort that kind of thing took? It conflicted with the her fundamental laziness!

"Come on dear, it'll be fun!" her mother attempted to convince her. It wasn't a very strong argument.

"No."

"Moon."

"Mama."

"Moon."

"Mama."

Mama sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll just have to throw out all of the coffee in the house and take away your allowance…"

Moon gasped. "No, you wouldn't!"

Kukui nodded seriously. "I wouldn't bet on her not having the guts to do it. Your mother is a very cruel woman."

Mama giggled. "Oh, I wouldn't say that…"

Moon wanted to throw up.

"Do you really want me gone that badly?" Moon questioned, pushing the nausea away. "Don't you love me?"

"Now dear," Mama began comfortingly. "I love you very much, but you're your father's spitting image. If I don't send you out on a journey now then you'll end up turning into a shut in just like he did."

She had a point, Moon supposed. Mama loved Dad as much as she loved Moon, but those shut in tendencies of his did get on her nerves quite a bit. Moon didn't want to fight with Mama over those. It just didn't sound very appealing.

However, a journey meant many things.

It meant effort, traveling, taking care of pokémon, dealing with people amongst others.

So the question was which is worse- life without morning coffee for an indefinite period of time or a journey.

No coffee...or a journey.

No deliciousness to make waking up worth it...or a journey.

No energy to make the day livable...or a journey.

Separation from the second love of her life...or a journey.

The correct choice was unbearably obvious.

"You drive a hard bargain," Moon said in defeat. "I suppose I'll just have to do it. There are very few things in this world that are worth losing coffee over and this is not one of them."

Kukui and Mama both beamed. Moon was not happy with them ganging up on her like this. It was very unfair.

In the end, a very unwilling Moon was dragged along to Iki Town in the middle of the night. Mama, the lucky human, stayed home to watch TV. Traitor…

"Is it just me or is sending a pretty young girl such as myself off into the wilderness in the middle of the night with a strange man a bad idea?" Moon wondered aloud. What was Mama thinking again?

As nice as it was to listen to all of this praise about Alola being some sort of a paradise, she still didn't

Kukui just laughed at her. "I'm not a strange man, cousin! I'm a friend, yeah!"

"That's exactly what a sexual predator would say to keep his victims calm before he finally goes in for the deed," Moon pointed out dryly. "And why do you keep calling me 'cousin'? We aren't related!"

As far as she knew, anyways.

Kukui pretended he didn't hear Moon's first comment. "That's an Alolan way of addressing people. You should use it some time!"

"Yeah, sure." Not.

Alola, as it turned out, was actually rather beautiful. She hadn't paid much attention to it earlier for obvious reasons, but now that she had a chance to really take a good look at the scenery she found herself being more than a bit impressed.

Though there was that one ferret-pokémon-thing that reminded her disturbingly of that one Unovian politician, but whatever. She was just going to pretend that she hadn't seen that particular creature. Oh look, pikipeks!

"So who's this kahuna person anyways?" Moon asked. That sounded like something right out of one of those beach movies that everyone seemed to be obsessed with nowadays.

"The kahuna's the strongest trainer on the whole island! He's practically unbeatable," Kukui proclaimed. "They're kind people that lead their respective islands and always love giving pokémon to people who want to start their island trials."

"Trials?" Okay, that sounded interesting.

Kukui nodded. "Yeah, trials. Alola doesn't have its own league with gyms or anything like that, not yet anyway, so instead young trainers take on the island trials, given that they're sixteen or older."

That much was obvious. Pokémon were not benevolent toys. They could easily kill people without even meaning it, as Alola's pokémon have been known to do quite often. There was a reason why Alola had such a high death rate in certain areas.

Moon would know, she wasn't one to go in unprepared. Well, mostly at least. She had forgotten to look up the region's culture and customs, but she could figure those out on her own now that she had essentially been kicked out of the house to go off on an adventure.

Anyway, a child is still, foremost a child. They cannot be expected to make rational decisions and are far more likely to go off and do whatever they wish. Every child believes themselves to be invincible and never consider the possibility of death. How could adults possibly send children off alone into a world like that with such a high level of danger? It just wasn't realistic.

Hell, one of the most common pokémon in this region was known to hug people to death.

 _Hug people to death._

Screw bewears.

Creepy little innocent-looking pink furballs of doom and destruction…

Kukui continued on, not noticing the grimace that had taken hold of Moon's face as she thought of the horrifying Giratina-spawn. "Each trial is run by a trial captain that was chosen by the Kahuna. There's only one here on Melemele Island, so you'll have to go the other islands to complete your challenge."

Other islands.

In order to get to the other islands she would have to take a ferry to get to them.

….no thank you.

"I never said that I'll be doing this whole 'Island Challenge' thing or whatever," Moon pointed out.

"Your mom said you would~" Kukui returned with yet another one of his standard grins.

"Oh. Okay then. I guess I am then." Crap.

Kukui snickered at her reaction. "Iki Town is just up ahead, yeah."

Moon could see the wooden gates already. It seemed like such a rustic sort of town, made up of a few buildings surrounding a stage of some sorts.

They reached it quickly enough, the walk only taking a few minutes. Kukui stopped for a moment to give some little kid that shouldn't have even been out alone this late some advice on pokémon moves, but it was a fairly minor set back.

Kukui continued to fill Moon in on the culture of the Alola region as she listened with rapt attention. Sure, she still thought that he was an idiotic sexual predator, but hey at least he was a helpful one.

"Huh...looks like we just missed old Hala. Do me a favor, cousin, and go find him for me, yeah? I'll wait here."

Scratch that helpful bit.

Moon raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be the one going to look for him while I wait?"

"Nah, waiting around's probably too boring for you, yeah. Just go ahead and explore!"

There was no reasoning with this idiot. "Okay, whatever. What does this guy even look like again?"

"Like a kahuna, yeah. You can't miss him!"

...oh he has got to be kidding her. "But what does a kahuna look like?"

"I just told you, yeah. You'll know him when you see him!"

Stupid unhelpful sexual predator. He probably took sadistic pleasure in confusing her, the jerk.

Moon didn't even dignify that with a response. Instead she simply picked a random direction, north, and went off into the night. There was a path right past the intricately painted stage that seemed perfectly reasonable and probably life threatening without a pokémon to go off on.

In front of the path stood a girl, perhaps a bit younger than Moon, dressed in expensive-looking lavender clothing with a large bag of some sorts. She looked to be speaking to the bag, though Moon wasn't close enough to actually hear what the girl was saying.

Perhaps there was a pokémon in there?

Either that or the girl was just as crazy as Professor Rapist over there.

Both were equally likely at this point. Moon's first impressions of the people of Alola weren't very good ones.

The girl did look a bit too delicate to be going off on her own though...perhaps Moon should follow her to make sure that she didn't die or anything.

Not that Moon really cared or that she could actually do something to keep the girl safe, but hey there was a chance that the kahuna was out there. Two birds with one stone~!

Actually Moon wasn't entirely convinced that the guy wasn't in bed sleeping like a normal human being, but whatever. People weren't normal here, apparently.

Moon strode towards the pathway, slightly annoyed at the short legs that her diminutive height provided her with. She took comfort in the fact that that girl looked as though she was even shorter than Moon, but it was a small comfort. A very small one.

The path itself looked like a movie set. There were tiki statues scattered along the winding dirt road, creaky wooden steps allowing for the slope to be more realistically climbable.

It was rather pretty, she supposed. Now, all she needed was for the girl to still be alive by the time she reached the end of the path and for the kahuna to be there too and she was all set!

Moon reached the top of the trail, panting slightly. Why did there have to be stairs? Why couldn't it have been a nice, flat pathway?

The girl was up ahead. Her blonde hair- just a shade or two lighter than Moon's- was splayed in the breeze and her clothes still looked far too nice and expensive to be worn in a place like this.

But that wasn't what really caught Moon's interest.

The bag on the other hand? Now that was another thing entirely.

There was definitely a pokémon in there. What else could possibly be dragging that girl around with such enthusiasm?

Hm, perhaps this meant that that girl might actually be a normal human being...since she wasn't talking to herself as Moon had previously suspected.

But then again, jinxing herself now probably wasn't a good idea. Therefore it was best not to hold her breath. Who knows what might happen…

" _Nebby!"_

Huh. Looks like the pokémon from the bag escaped…

Moon watched on with interest. She had never seen nor heard of a pokémon like that before.

The creature was a fluffy ombre of blue and purple with a pattern of white spots glittering its body almost as if it was a cloud that could somehow contain the entire night sky. Its face was rather cute and cartoonish from what little of it Moon had glimpsed, brilliant white features set against ebony skin.

Yes, it was definitely an interesting specimen. What could it be? Perhaps she ought to take some pictures of it later and ask her father about what he knew of it.

She wasn't sure about whether or not she could trust Kukui (in all seriousness) and the internet was not entirely reliable.

Or she could just ask the trainer herself, but that was beside the point.

The pokémon looked so happy there, cheerfully playing the bridge.

It only makes sense that such happiness couldn't last.

A flock of spearow zoomed in on the fluff, circling around it and squawking threateningly. It appeared as though they had found their next prey…

The unknown pokémon huddled onto the unstable wooden planks of the old bridge, trembling fearfully. The spearow did not relent at the sudden show of weakness, only growing in aggressiveness.

Spearow were naturally a pokémon native to the Kanto and Johto regions. Cultural diffusion led to the introduction of this aggressive omnivorous species, causing it to spread across the globe. Their diet alternated between foraging for seeds and hunting for smaller, weaker pokémon to kill and devour.

Pokémon like this one.

Why wasn't the girl recalling her pokémon? It certainly wasn't out of pokéball range yet…

Speaking of which, the girl in question looked just as terrified as her companion. Pale hands had flown to a petite mouth; the large sunhat obscuring her expression from view.

Okay, maybe she forgot the pokéball at home. But that didn't explain why the girl wasn't just going after it on her own.

Trainers were said to always be putting their pokémon above their own lives, regardless of fears and anxieties. Should she not be willing to risk herself for her companion's sake?

Perhaps she just wasn't a very good trainer then.

Moon observed the situation carefully. Chances are, the pokémon was going to be attacked, maimed. Then, once the pokémon was sufficiently injured or dead the spearows would begin to harvest its soft flesh, enjoying their meal for days to come.

Something inside Moon churned. It was such a wretched feeling, demanding that she go over and help. This was a life they were talking about, how could she just watch as it's taken away?

But then again, is this not the natural progression of things? The so-called 'circle of life'? Who was she to interfere with such things when the pokémon's own trainer refused to do so?

The girl turned around, desperately looking for help or so it seemed.

Hazel met green and desperation clashed with cool concern.

"Please, you have to help us! If Nebby isn't rescued then…!"

Moon was wondering how long it would take for the girl to notice her.

"And why can't you just go help it yourself?" Moon questioned. Why risk herself on such an old bridge if someone more suitable to the task was available?

The girl looked down to her feet in shame. "I can't handle heights like this…"

Ah, of course. The girl would just freeze up if she tried and even if she did get over herself it would still take too long.

The bridge looked like it would collapse at any second. It was far less than safe to be walking on and Moon couldn't help but feel a tinge of fear as she gazed upon the worn out faulty planks, the weak ropes and the gaps within the bridge itself.

So the question really was, is this pokémon worth risking her life for?

Common sense said no, she didn't know this person so it was likely to be a _very_ stupid decision.

Her conscience on the other hand? You know, that one that she ignored about ninety five percent of the time?

It had other ideas. There was a voice in her mind nagging at her, telling Moon that she couldn't just let it die.

 _Screw the circle of life_ , it said. _You can't just let this happen! It's too cute to die now!_

Such sound logic. This was why Moon and her conscience tended to avoid each other. They just didn't see eye to eye on ideals in many areas, such as the importance of aesthetic, for example.

"Please...please help it...I'm begging you! Save Nebby!"

Hm, so it was one of those genderless pokémon…

Moon looked into the girl's large hazel eyes. She was rather cute, Moon noted. Almost irresistibly so.

It was very hard to say no to such a look.

Moon sighed. _Conscience, I hate you so much._

"I'll do it."

The girl brightened up considerably. "Oh, thank you so much!"

Moon nodded absently, focusing on the task at hand. She took a step onto the bridge, wincing at how unstable it felt beneath her feet.

This is why she should have just stayed in Kanto with her dad, where it was nice and safe.

The boards were falling apart under her steps and there were definitely more than a few close calls as she made her way to the defenseless creature known as Nebby.

She could hear the girl gasp at her every stumble and every sway and she wished that the girl would stop being so dramatic. It wasn't very good for Moon's nerves.

The adrenaline was starting to kick in, like fire rushing through her veins. She had never felt this way before, probably because she tended to live a rather safe and relaxed life. Moon had never considered herself to be a daredevil of any sort, but she had to admit.

The feeling of adrenaline felt slightly...empowering. There was definitely an appeal to this fire in her veins that only increased in intensity as she inched closer to the pokémon.

Speaking of which...what exactly was she going to do to save it again?

She did not have a pokémon of her own to scare off the spearow. And the spearow themselves were not known for being afraid of humans, though they certainly don't like the taste of human flesh.

Oh, so that's it. She just had to be a human shield until the spearow got bored and went away.

That seemed simple enough.

Moon was only a few feet away from Nebby at this point. She got down on all fours, slowly moving in on the fluff before finally covering its small body with her own.

Nebby looked up at her in surprise. "Pew?" it sounded nervously, its cute voice being like music to Moon's ears.

Especially with the spearow swooping down and attacking her now.

Ow. Those talons were sharper than expected… Chances are her white flower print shirt is either a) all torn up by now, b) covered in blood or c) all of the above.

Pity, she liked that shirt.

Moon looked down at Nebby, gracing it with a strained smile. "Hush now Nebby," she soothed. "This will all be over soon enough."

Nebby wasn't fooled by her smile, it seemed. It snuggled up to her stomach, holding on as tightly as it could with its soft appendages. "Pew…"

"Nothing to worry about he-AGH!" Those damn spearow...couldn't they avoid maiming the same spot on her back twice?

Moon's shout of pain caused Nebby to tense up once more. Moon was about to reassure it, only for her words to be cut off by a bright azure light.

Suddenly they were falling. Nebby was clinging to Moon's arms as Moon held it in her own terror.

She was going to fall into an icy cold river now and get impaled on one of the many jagged boulders.

She was going to die now.

Moon was going to die.

Stupid Alola...killing her in just a single day. Perhaps the world was angry at her previous insults towards the Alolan people based on her experiences with Kukui.

Karma was such a bitch.

Moon braced herself for impact.

 _Goodbye Mama, I'll miss your food and hugs. Goodbye Dad, I'm sorry I broke your paper shredder trying to get rid of that history test. Goodbye Kukui, I won't miss you. Goodbye Nebby, you were too precious for this world anyway. Goodbye-_

Huh, looks like she died already.

She didn't even feel it happen. But there was seriously no way that she could possibly be feeling the ground under her butt right now, so obviously this had to be the afterlife.

Cautiously she opened her eyes, only to be met with the concerned hazel of the girl that had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

Moon blinked. "Did you kill yourself once Nebby and I fell into the river or something?"

The girl looked vaguely alarmed. "No, of course not! Tapu Koko saved you guys!"

"Tapu what now?"

It was then that Moon noticed the… _thing_ floating in front of her. It was strange-looking beyond a doubt, what with its black and orange body, yellow wooden wings and intricate patterns.

But was by far the most striking thing about it was its eyes.

They were raging, electrifying Moon's soul as she gazed into them. There was wisdom and violence in that gaze, as though the pokémon- _Tapu Koko_ \- reveled in strife and conflict. They told of a deep thirst for blood and battle, of a power far beyond anything Moon had ever dreamed of.

She couldn't look away.

At last after what felt like an eternity to Moon, Tapu Koko broke their connection, taking away that mesmerizing gaze as it flipped into the air, disappearing in a burst of lightning.

Kukui had told her about Tapu Koko, she thinks. A being of war and righteousness, Tapu Koko was the fickle god of this island.

….she had been rescued by a god?

 _What the actual fuck._

"Thank Arceus that you're both okay… Nebby, you know you shouldn't be using your power like that! You could hurt yourself… remember what happened last time?" the girl was saying as Moon brought herself back to reality.

Nebby had the decency to look a bit ashamed of itself. Power? Was that the azure light that Nebby had produced just before it fell?

"Power?" Moon questioned sharply. "What power?"

After all, she did deserve to be informed of something that may or may not have nearly gotten her killed just now.

The girl's eyes widened at the question. "Um...it's nothing! Nothing at all. Thank you for saving Nebby! I don't know what I would've done without you!"

Diversion tactics at their most obvious. How suspicious.

"I don't think it was nothing," Moon pointed out, "-but you're welcome, I suppose. Next time keep an eye on your pokémon before someone actually gets killed, 'kay?"

The girl nodded, wilting over Moon's words. "I'm so sorry… I promise we'll be more careful now!"

Moon nodded. She seemed sincere enough… "Right. So, can I know the name of the lovely lady that brought me to my potential doom?"

Moon made sure to add a teasing lilt to her voice, making a small attempt at lightening the mood.

Nervousness just wasn't very good for her heart after such a close call…

The girl blushed at Moon's words, the red contrasting sharply against her pale skin. "Um, yes, of course. My name is Lillie and this is my friend Nebby."

Lillie turned to the pokémon in question as she made the introduction. Nebby on the other hand wasn't paying much attention to their conversation, instead focusing on something glittering on the ground.

Lillie bent over to pick it up curiously, inspecting it carefully. Moon looked on in interest. What a beautiful looking stone...but what was with those carvings? Had that even been there before?

"Tapu Koko must have dropped this when it left…" Lillie said thoughtfully. "Here, I think this is for you. Call it a strange feeling, but something tells me that Tapu Koko meant it for your hands."

A strange feeling indeed.

Moon nodded. "Hm, if you say so then who am I to argue?" she asked, accepting the stone. More like she was just curious to see what it was, but oh well.

"You never gave me your name," the shorter girl pointed out. "I think Nebby also wants to know the name of the person responsible for saving it."

"Oh yeah, right. Hi, I'm Moon. Alola hates me," she introduced cheerfully.

Lillie gave her a strange look. "How could a region possibly hate one person?"

Moon returned her look dryly. "I've only been here for about a day and yet I've already been subjected to a conversation with a sexual predator and I've nearly died. Plus, my shirt's been ruined."

Lillie's mouth formed a perfect 'o'. "That's horrible! I'm pretty new to this region too and while I admit that I haven't had an easy time of it either, isn't that a bit too much?" 

Moon nodded seriously. "Yes, yes it is. Tapu Koko probably only saved me so that Alola can continue enjoying my misery."

"Or maybe it just saw something in you?"

Moon frowned thoughtfully, pausing for a moment. "Nah, it's just helping its sadistic land."

"I don't think that Tapu Koko would do that…"

"Have you ever actually seen it before now?"

"Well no...but-"

"Therefore you can't possibly argue against me now due to lack of sufficient evidence."

"But the stories say that-"

"The stories say that Tapu Koko is fickle and does whatever it likes. Sounds like this fits the bill for something it would do."

"I guess, but then why would it leave you the stone like this?" 

"A consolation prize, I guess?"

The three of them had begun their journey back to the village, Lillie gaining more confidence as the conversation went on. Nebby had returned to the bag, seeing as it actually didn't have its own pokéball, interestingly enough. (" _Nebby prefers being outside, actually. Pokéballs scare it a lot._ ")

Moon had to admit, once Lillie lost her reservations she was very interesting to talk to. She was very opinionated, if a bit timid.

She also seemed to have a heart of gold. Moon was very glad that Lillie hadn't caught sight of her still stinging back, that would have caused quite a bit of mother henning from the looks of it.

Moon had never been more thankful of that high pain tolerance that she had built up after numerous near fatal encounters with her arch nemesis- the stairs.

 _Screw stairs._

They eventually reached Iki Town, immediately being greeted by Kukui.

"Hey Moon! I see you've found my assistant, yeah!"

Moon abruptly turned to face Lillie and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You're that man's assistant?" she asked urgently.

Lillie's eyes widened at the sudden contact. "Um, yes?"

"And he hasn't sexually harassed you yet?"

"Um, no, of course not! The professor isn't like that!"

Professor Kukui quickly cut in. "Yeah, Moon's a weird person. There was just a misunderstanding that she doesn't want to let go of, yeah!"

"Huh...so maybe he isn't a sexual predator if he could resist touching a girl as cute as Lillie…" Moon pondered aloud.

"I'm not a sexual predator at all, yeah! That's what I've been trying to tell you!"

Lillie looked like she wanted to faint.

"Now look what you've done!" Moon said hotly, facing Kukui. "Your incessant shouting is scaring this precious little human!"

"I don't think I'm the one doing the scaring, cousin."

"Can't you guys just get along?" Lillie cut in quietly, her hazel eyes forming the dreaded expression of ultimate cuteness. She clearly was not a fan of this interaction.

Ah well if it was Lillie asking…

"I suppose I can be civil with this one for now," Moon sniffed.

Kukui let out a sigh of relief. "Finally, yeah."

" _Hala is back! Make way for the kahuna!_ "

" _Tapu Koko's chosen has returned!"_

" _Alola's greatest fighting type user!"_

The kahuna? Great, just the dude she was looking for!

A large elderly man was approaching the village gates. From the opposite direction of where Moon had gone to look for him...gee thanks guessing skills.

Huh, Kukui was actually right for once… the guy did look like a kahuna for whatever odd reason. It must be the clothes…

"Alola, Hala!" Kukui greeted the returning kahuna. "What's with the hold up, yeah? Didn't we agree on meeting here?"

"I am the kahuna of this island, after all. Whenever there is a problem on this island it is my duty to resolve it, even if it means that I must be late to prior arrangements. Have I missed anything, Kukui?"

Kukui shook his head. "Nothing important." 

Actually, Moon thought that her near death just now was very important, thank you very much.

"Hmm, I see. For some reason I thought I saw Tapu Koko flying around near the ruins…"

Moon stepped forward, nodding. "That's right. It just saved me from falling to my doom a few minutes ago!"

Hala raised a silver eyebrow. "Falling to your doom? Hasn't anyone told you not to go playing on the old rope bridge?"

Lillie stepped in front of Moon defensively. "Wait, it wasn't Moon's fault! Nebby and I wanted to go see the ruins but we ran into some trouble with a spearow flock and Moon helped us out! Please don't put any blame on her."

Moon was slightly taken aback at Lillie's defense. She didn't mind getting scolded a bit and this was clearly out of Lillie's comfort zone.

Moon's respect for Lillie just went up a notch. Looks like she isn't just some rich pansy…

Hala laughed heartily. "Is that so? It looks like you have some courage in you, Moon!"

Lillie nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, she was very brave! She defended Nebby from the spearow but then the bridge collapsed and I thought that they were going to die! Thankfully Tapu Koko arrived just in time to save them."

"Now that's something you don't hear everyday!" Kukui laughed as though this wasn't a serious matter at all.

What was even worse was that Hala even joined in! "Ho! Now there's a reason to celebrate! I think you're more than deserving of your own pokémon after all that! You'll make a kind trainer."

Yes, please give her a creature of her own now. That was the entire reason why Moon was here in the first place. To get a pokémon and go off on a journey just like her mother had insisted on her doing.

"That does sound very nice," Moon agreed.

"Then its time for you to meet your first pokémon! Consider it my welcoming gift for your arrival in Melemele Island."

Hala tossed out three pokéballs- three pokémon appearing in a flash of light.

Hala then introduced the three pokémon- litten, rowlet and popplio- but Moon was hardly listening.

Her eyes were already transfixed at one in particular.

Was this the feeling known as 'love at first sight'?

Moon just couldn't tear her eyes away from the green owl that stood before her and somehow she got the feeling that it- _he_ \- couldn't tear his eyes away from hers either.

She could hear them talking about the pokémon having to choose her as well, but somehow she doubted that it was going to be an issue. There was just a connection between them, something new and strange and all together wonderful.

Was this how all trainers felt when they first met their pokémon?

Moon stepped forward as the rowlet hopped towards her, their movements almost synchronized.

She picked up the rowlet, holding him high in the air as she looked over her new partner, a grin spreading across her face.

"This is the start of a beautiful relationship," Moon informed it.

"Koo," Rowlet agreed, its eyes sparkling as she held him.

They continued to stare into each other's eyes until…

" _Moon, your back!"_

Oh boy.


End file.
